Girls Aloud - Jump Music Video

Vodcast - Super Bass & Dancing Queen

Music video idea.....Party Rock Anthem

Party Rock Anthem

Artist: LMFAO

Released: 2011

Genre: Electro house

I think this would be a really great music video to perform, as the original music video is quite simple and concepts from that music video would be quite easy to repeat. Some of the music video could easily be performed at school such as the dancing/ shuffling parts, I imagined speeding the dancers up in the editing process to match the fast beat the song. It also could be easy to use willing students from other years to be background dancers. The start of the music video begins with the artists waking up from a coma and walking outside to notice then whenever music suddenly begins it has an infectious disease where no one can resist the urge to dance. Instead of waking up in a hospital like in LMFAO video, we could use students waking up from a sleep on the floor at school (possibly on grass or different locations around school). I imagined a close up would be used for this part to focus on the dancers being asleep.

Toxic - Britney Spears

Song: Toxic

Arrtist: Britney Spears

Year of release: 2004
Director: Joseph Kahn

Genre: dance-pop, electro pop

Characteristics: plane, outfits, wigs, diamonds, lasers, characters, secret agent.

 

Relationship between lyrics and visuals: in the song Toxic Britney Spears sings about being addicted to a lover, the visuals are paired with Britney in scantily dressed clothing miming the words to the song. Britney appears naked covered in diamonds in a couple of shots and flirts with the camera whilst miming. Britney's music is aimed at a tweenage/teenage audience and so does not hold a great example, featuring her nude except for a diamond thong (not the best role model) These revealing outfits are obviously targeted at a male audience and the male gaze theory can be applied to the video as a whole. The video on the whole seems to be targeting a male audience however Britney sells her music to a much larger percentage of females than males. This is possibly due to younger females wanting to imitate Britney because of the way she looks and the way male's respond to her. The lyrics are not specially portrayed in the music video but it is obvious that Britney is singing about a male and the video includes Britney cavorting with different males so is similar in that sense. The lyrics ‘too high can’t come down’ are matched with Britney being aboard a plane in her sexy air hostess outfit.

 

Relationship between music and visuals: Toxic features varied instrumentation such as drums, synthesis and surf guitar. It is accompanied with high-pitched strings and breathy vocals. Britney’s movements and dance moves are in time to the rhythm of the music and are synchronised to the different beats in different parts to the song. The same beat continues throughout the whole song and is synchronised well with the different scenes in the video, including when Britney moves in synch with the music to get through the lasers.

 

Close ups of artist: the main close ups include Britney’s facial expressions. This is usually her flirting with the camera trying to entice the viewer.

 

Performance and narrative based: the storyline to the music video is that of Britney acting as a secret agent in the search of a vial of green liquid. After she steals it, she enters an apartment and poisons her unfaithful boyfriend. The video is also performance based as it involves a naked Britney posing, Britney acting as an air hostess and secret agent. All of which involve the pop star in revealing and outrageous outfits. 

Youtube hits: 46 million

Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne

Song: Girlfriend

Artist: Avril Lavigne

Year of release: 2006
Director: The Malloys

Genre: pop, punk pop

Characteristics: pitch and putt, dodgem cars, photo booth, school toilets, Avril playing three different characters, teenage, live band, geeks and Goths.

Relationship between lyrics and visuals: this music video has the largest link to the lyrics to visuals than any other music videos I have deconstructed. Most of the song lyrics link visually to the music video is some way or another. E.g. ‘hey hey, you you, I don’t like your girlfriend’ is paired with an image of Avril dressed as one of her characters grabbing the attention of the protagonist male and ignoring his ‘geek’ girlfriend who appears shocked. (The ‘geek’ female character is also played by Avril in a ginger wig). Also the lyric ‘I could be your girlfriend’ is paired with Avril grabbing and playing with the male characters shirt in a playful and provocative manner. Avril mimes a lot of the words to her song to the male character. Such as her miming ‘No it’s not a secret’ and then putting her finger to her lips. This makes the lyrics and visuals tie together nicely.

Relationship Between music and visuals: the song doesn’t begin in the music video until Avril kicks the male characters leg and he and his girlfriend both turn around. This focuses the audience’s attention on the Goth character and how she is trying to seduce the male character. When the electric guitars begin the play the visuals are matched with Avril and her band members playing guitars, on what appears to be a stage with a back drop. The drums and guitars that are being played are also matched with jump cuts of the band members and Avril playing on the stage.

Close ups of artist: the music video has certain close-ups of Avril playing herself with her long blonde extensions and fishnet tights. Other close-ups include Avril playing her different characters the close-ups are mainly used to show the characters facial expressions.

Narrative and performance based: this music video tells a story that is explained through characters Avril plays. The story is about a girl who likes a boy who has a girlfriend. This girlfriend doesn’t have much in common with the male and the story explains that actually the girl who likes the boy has much more in common with him than his current ‘geeky’ and snooty girlfriend. The music video is also performance based as it includes Avril playing her guitar with a live band on a stage. Other performance elements include the locations and the actions of the characters.

Youtube hits: 160 million!

I Want You Back - Jackson 5

Song: I Want You Back

Artists: Jackson 5

Year of release:  1969
Director: Stephen Lance & Mairi Cameron

 

Genre: soul, funk, pop

Characteristics: colour, live stage, band, instruments, family, fringe clothing, waistcoats

Relationship between lyrics and visuals: as the music video just contains the Jackson 5 live on stage singing, the visuals may not as be a specific as they could have been if they had the technology to do so in that era of time.

 

Relationship between music and visuals: the music is live and includes an array of instruments such as guitars, a piano, drums etc. The visuals include the Jackson 5 playing and singing live in front of a studio audience. The main singer of this song was a very young Michael Jackson backed up vocally by his brothers.

 

Close ups: Michael Jackson is the main focus of the close ups in this music video as he is the main singer of the band for this particular song.

 

Performance based: the music video contains the band the Jackson 5 singing live from a studio audience. The song ‘I Want You Back’ explores the theme of a lover who decides that that he was too hasty in dropping his partner. An unusual aspect of this song is that its main lead vocal was performed by a preteen Michael Jackson.

Youtube hits: 4 million

Dance wiv Me - Dizzee Rascal

Song: Dance wiv Me

Artist: Dizzee Rascal

Year of release:  2008
Director: Luc Edwards

 

Genre: hip hop, nu-disco

Characteristics: bar, women, revealing clothing, pimps, DJ booth.

 

Relationship between lyrics and visuals: Dizzee sings about a woman he has found at a bar and how he wants her to come and dance with him. The camera focuses on the woman’s body in her revealing clothing, especially when Dizzee sings about how attractive she is. The music video is definitely focused on the male genre as the shots include lots of young, thin and attractive women.

 

Relationship between music and visuals: the song begins with a DJ mixing songs together the visuals back up this by a DJ standing in a bar with headphones on, mixing songs. The song continues to sound like it is remixed by a DJ live and the music video compliments this may making it seem like they are all dancing to the DJ live at the bar. The background dancers all move in time to the beat which makes the music seem even more realistic that it’s live.  

 

Close ups of artist: there are a few close ups of Dizzee and Calvin Harris, mainly just showing their facial expressions and reacting to what’s going on around them. There are also close ups of the women and their body’s which is apart of the male gaze theory that this video includes.

 

Performance based: this video is mainly performed based as it involves Dizzee dancing with different women at a local bar, surrounded by pimps and women. Calvin Harris acts are the barman and watches the situation rather than getting involved in the dancing etc.

Youtube hits: 11 million

All the Small Things - Blink-182

Song: All the Small Things

Artist: Blink – 182

Year of release: 2000

Genre: pop, punk

Characteristics: live audience, dance studio, arena, airport, beach, fans.

Relationship between lyrics and visuals: the song is written by Tom DeLonge who initially wrote the song about his girlfriend (later wife). The lyric ‘roses by the stairs’ was inspired by a real night where DeLonge came home from recording to find roses laying at the top of the stairs. The lyric ‘you’ll be at my show’ is reflected in the music video as the fans in the audience are all mainly female. 

 

Relationship between music and visuals: the song begins with the introduction of a band playing the guitar and drums at a fast pace. The video also includes fast pace shots of the band playing their instruments in a studio and underground arena. The same beat continues throughout the song, towards the middle of the song the beat slows down, with this the pace of the music video also slows down along with the music.

 

Close ups: there are a few close up of the artists which include their face’s singing and also to show their missing teeth/ fake teeth, which ads to the humour element of the video. Other close ups include the screaming fans in the audience, and of the bands body’s.

 

Performance based: the video is performance based as it involves the members of Blink182 singing and dancing around different sets and locations. The humour aspect is added to the music video as the boys from the band wear false teeth and/or black marks on their teeth to make it appear that teeth are missing. The male members also appear naked on a beach, wear nothing but their underwear on stage and eat flowers in parts of the video. This idea makes the artists appear a bit crazy and odd which can be a good thing for a brand image. The video does not appear to have storyline, but mainly a group of ideas.

 Youtube hits: 25 million

Super Bass - Nicki Minaj

Song: Super Bass

Artist: Nicki Minaj

Year of release: 2011
Director: Sanaa Hamri 

Genre: R&B, hip hop, pop

Characteristics: Barbie, pink, fake, plastic, doll inspired costumes, shirtless men, UV lighting.

    

Relationship between lyrics and visuals: the songs lyrics tells a story by Nicki about a boy she has a crush on, and wants to be intimate with him, but instead takes on a playful approach. E.g. dressing up as plastic dolls and living the ‘Barbie lifestyle’. Nicki songs about a boy she has a crush whilst being surrounded by half naked men in a pink-watered pool. The music video focuses on the female gaze as well as the male gaze as it includes revealing outfits from both the male and female dancers.

 

Relationship between music and visuals: the song begins with a high pitched automated introduction, almost like something you would hear out of a child’s TV programme theme song. The sound of childlike music is compared to the close up of Nicki with her pink and blonde hair, long fake eyelashes, bright pink lips and tight pink clothing. Nicki is dressed as Barbie, and the music video attempts to copy Barbie’s lifestyle which includes a bright pink plastic car and plane and also lots of men who also appear to look like plastic Ken dolls. The childish music continues throughout the song, mixed with a low bass to create the ‘Super bass’ idea to the song.

Close ups: the music video contains many close up and extreme close ups of Nicki and her male dancers. For Nicki the close ups mainly focus on her facial features, which show her Barbie-like and fake appearance. As for the male dancers the close ups are focused on their unnaturally toned body’s and immaculate appearances. This is a focus for the female gaze theory.

Controversy: recently over the last couple of years the fashion and modelling industry has been notorious for trying to make beautiful black women look white Caucasian. They do this by lighting women’s skin, dying hair blonde and giving black women blue contact lenses to wear. The whole idea was seen as unnatural and caused anger in the black community as the idea of trying to change a women’s race made them seem inferior. Nicki is dressed up as a Barbie doll in her music video Super Bass and her make-up has changed her appearance completely in the video, including lighting her skin in post production. The idea of changing a women’s eye colour, hair colour and skin colour to look Caucasian seems hugely controversial and betraying her own culture and identity.

Performance based: the music video is mainly performance as it involves Nicki running around her own Barbie world which includes pink rocks, water, walls, outfits, cars and planes. The video also contains Nicki dancing with the male version doll of herself and the lyrics focus on her relationship with him.

Youtube hits: 200 million!

Womanizer - Britney Spears

Song: Womanizer

Artist: Britney Spears

Year of release: 2008
Director: Joseph Kahn
 
Genre: pop, electro pop

Characteristics: Britney playing different characters. Wigs, costumes and locations.


Relationship between lyrics and visuals: the chorus is sung by Britney, she sings about a man who womanizes lots of women. The video reflects this by having Britney dressed differently in each scene, portraying lots of different women in different situations flirting with the same man. Britney sings about the same womanising man throughout the whole song. The video has a protagonist male character, who is used in every scene and so is meant to be portraying the womanizing man who Britney is singing about.
 
Relationship between music and visuals: the song begins with a siren playing which essentially means danger. This noise is matched with Britney lying naked in a sauna, which links to the two together that Britney has an element of danger. The video then jumps to another scene and the beat is quite slow, the music still has a siren sounding quietly in the background, whilst Britney moves her hips in time to the beat of the song. The siren plays quite loudly in the background through the rest of the song. This signals danger and is matched in the video with the different characters of Britney flirting and provocatively dancing with the male.
 
Close up of artist: there are many close ups of Britney in this music video with are mainly just beauty shots of the singer focusing on her face. There are also close ups of Britney’s body which are purposely for the male gaze.
 
Performance based: this video is mainly performance based as it just involves Britney and her different characters seducing the same man from each scene. The video focuses on Britney sexy and provocative behaviour and her dancing and outfits are performance based only.

Youtube hits: 83 million

Hey Ya! - OutKast

Song: Hey Ya!
Artist: OutKast
Year of release: 2003
Director: Raymond Wilkins
 
Genre: alternative hip hop, funk


Characteristics: Live crowd, green, stage, live band, screaming women, 70s, black and white TV
 
Relationship between lyrics and visuals: the lyrics talk about Andre and about the girl he wants to be in a relationship with but she doesn’t feel the same. The music video focuses on Andre and the multiples of himself performing a concert to a screaming crowd of women. The women are running on to the stage, fainting and going crazy to see OutKast.
 
Relationship between music and visuals: the music is quite simple and contains an electric guitar, piano and drum kit. There is no edited music and sounds simple which is also reflected in the video, as it is simply eight versions of Andre playing instruments on stage. The loud screaming of girls is playing constantly through the song to get the effect that the performance is live. This drowns out some of the music. Whenever there is clapping in the song, there is also clapping on stage rhythmically with the band playing instruments.  
 
Close up of artist: there are a couple close ups of the different versions of Andre playing the different band member characters that mainly just show him singing and performing.


Intertexual references: Andre performed the music video in comparisons to The Beatles by mimicking their 1964 performance on The Ed Sullivan Show.  
 
Concept based: as the band mimickers The Beatles performance of The Ed Sullivan Show the video is mainly concept driven, and has taken the idea of someone else and made it their own.












Youtube hits: 12 million

Sound Of The Underground - Girls Aloud

Song: Sound of the underground

Artist: Girls aloud

Year of release: 2003

 

Genre: Pop, dance pop

Characteristics: Dark, electric guitars, cage, underground train platform, un-glamouress, crop tops and heavy make up.

 

Relationship between lyrics and visuals: the chorus ‘sound of the underground’ is the main aspect to the music video, as the band members all sing in a grotty underground train station. The metal cage the band members are singing in throughout the music video also portrays the dull, dark and neglected area the underground train station is. ‘waters running in the wrong direction’ lyric is portrayed in the music video through water dripping off a dirty light bulb in reverse from the underground station.  

 

Relationship between music and visuals: the song starts with electric guitars and then the tempo and the beat increases, and becomes more sharp and edgy. The visuals to the music video match up to the sharp and fast beat of the song as the band members are collectively singing in what appears a dark and dreary cage in a underground tunnel. The drum beat slows down whilst the girls sing the verses around different parts of the underground and the beat then picks up again when they sing the chorus in their cage.

 

Close up of artists: there is no major close ups of the artists as the main type of shop is a medium shot with the girls torso included in the shot. The only major close up in the entire video is that of the light bulb dripping water, which focuses on the lyric, waters running in the wrong direction.

 

Performance based: as there is no real plot or concept to this video, it is mainly performance based. This is because the girls are performing in a dirty underground station, in black and cheap looking clothing. Along with their heavy, dark eye makeup, the whole image is portrayed of the band as being quite dark, sexy and mysterious. The whole music video contrasts highly with other female groups videos, as the norm is very glamouress and perfect, which this video is not.

Youtube hits: 1 million